The Colvin's Frame Shop Story

     Dad was framing pictures since before I can remember.  Rummaging through some old boxes of stuff, I found a sales tax collection permit dated July 1960 so I guess that was the official beginning (Colvin's Frame and Picture Shop) though I think he was framing for quite some time before that.  This was about the same time that Mom began to more diligently pursue her artistic talent.  It was to be a team that would be very successful over the next four decades.  

     I remember hanging out with Dad in his shop, which he built (Dad was a carpenter as was his father) behind our home in Greensburg, KY.  I would pester him to push me in my swing until he convinced me that I could do it myself.  I loved to watch him work except when he would fire up the screaming table saw (a saw I still use in the shop now) which sent me running for quieter places.  

     Apparently business was good and in 1965 he built a larger place of business - Colvin's Gallery and Frame Shop - on Columbia Rd. in Greensburg.  It was very good timing as this was the period that prints by Ray Harm and other wildlife artists were becoming very popular and my mother's art career began to bloom.  For the next twenty-three years they conducted a successful art and framing business in our small town.  I count myself very fortunate to have been a part of the business from 1968 - 1980.  They retired from active business in 1988 though Mom continued to paint and Dad continued to frame at home for several years following that.  

     George Colvin passed away in April 2004 and Mildred Colvin in October 2005.  

     Prior to their deaths I had no intention of reentering the framing business but after they were gone felt a strong compulsion to continue their work.  The new Colvin's Frame Shop opened for business in September 2006.  Getting back into the framing business has been a satisfying pursuit - working in the shop at as leisurely pace as the work load allows - listening to Glenn Miller or Al Hirt (some of Dad's favorite music) or Tommy Castro and B.B. King (some of my favorite music).  Much of the work is done with older tools and methods considered dated now but with a dedication to quality and customer satisfaction.  I hope to continue this work for some time and possibly pass it on to another generation.

                                                                                    -Randy Colvin